Back
by StillSound
Summary: Sasuke goes back to Konoha, hoping. Hope has never done much for him, though. When Team 7 isn't there, Taka is all Sasuke has left. Onesided SasuNaru at the beginng, SuiSasu. One-shot.


This one-shot is amazingly not SasuNaru, but SuiSasu. Well, it is SasuNaru, kinda, but it's onesided on Sasuke's part and at the end it's SuiSasu. So, yeah, SuiSasu for a change. Reviews please!

In which Sasuke is back and Suigetsu is crying

"You're going back?", Suigetsu asks when he sees through Sasuke's disguises, when he sees him pretend to leave for the tiny fishing village on the river, when he sees him going to Konoha.

Juugo lifts his head up from his pet birds and Karin drops the kunai and scrolls in her hand, cutting her hand in the process, a slow red river pooling over her hand onto the ground.

Sasuke turns and tosses his head back, his now Itachi-long hair drifting in the wind. "I am."

Suigetsu stares at him hatefully. "You _coward_, Sasuke, you could have at least _told_ us." Juugo looks at him fearfully and his voice is a whisper when he finally speaks: "Who will keep people safe with you away from me, Sasuke-san?" Karin is angry and kicks the scrolls and kunai into a rock. "You can't go back there, Sasuke-kun. You don't live there anymore. You live with us. They hate you now." She's close to crying.

It's all true, the coward part, the keeping Juugo sane part and the living and hating part. It's all true, but Sasuke has always closed his eyes to the truth and preferred to live in his own little reality. And in this little reality, Naruto will forgive him. He doesn't know what will happen if his reality breaks, as it is so likely to do. Sasuke has lived on edges for a long time, sharp and daunting edges where most men would have thrown themselves off.

Sasuke does not know what to say to them, this ragged and hungry little band of ninjas that stick together because they have no other place to go. Except for Sasuke, Sasuke prays and hopes. So he says nothing and turns away, towards Konoha.

When he sees the Gate, which was he leaving point last time and his now his entering point, nostalgia hits him as rough and unexpected as Naruto's punches. He loses his footing and falls through the treetops for a few seconds before he gets a new chakra-hold on the nearest trunk

Sasuke stands still for a few minutes, his head pounding with feeling and memories he has not allowed himself to remember in a very long time. Images of kindly, mocking eyes and smiles that chill and burn him in ways he doesn't want to think about. Naruto with his annoying ability to save Sasuke at the very second he needs saving, as he proved during the Chuunin exam. Sakura with lousy attempts to act cool and win Sasuke's love and recognition, in the end feeling unwanted until Naruto would start bothering her. Kakashi with his level-headiness, Kakashi in the way he stopped Sasuke and Naruto from killing each other and Sakura from completely disfiguring Naruto's face.

Sasuke smiles to himself and wonders if they're still like that, if Tsunade will even give him a chance to find out. He wonders if he'll die inside the Gate, if he should go back to Taka, as Juugo and Karin want so much. He's not sure if Suigetsu cares. But Sasuke is not used to wondering and doesn't like it (Kami knows how many times Suigetsu and Naruto have complained about him being a know-it-all). So he walks forward.

Sasuke isn't sure exactly what will happen when he walks through the Gate, but he supposes the guards will recognize him and capture him. If they're too dumb too do that, someone on the way to the Hokage tower will definitely recognize him and then they'll capture him.

Sasuke walks through the open Gate and looks to his right, where he remembers the guard post used to be. There's nothing there and Sasuke thinks 'they must have moved it', but before he gets the chance to turn his head, there's shouts and screams of "_Uchiha! Uchiha Sasuke!_" and Sasuke is proud he's strong enough to be recognized on sight to be as a bloodthirsty criminal, even though he's not one. Sasuke's sword is unclasped from his waist and there's strong arms that are not Naruto's, Sakura's or Kakashi's clasping him around his chest and a battle-scarred kunai pressed against his throat. A harsh voice is next to his ear, promising torture: "Don't move, Uchiha. Or else."

Sasuke smirks and relaxes in the man's arms, wondering if soon Naruto will be holding him like this, like there's nothing in the world he wants so much as to keep Sasuke where he was. Sasuke knows that's want he wants to do with Naruto. The real reason he's come here is not Sakura or Kakashi, it's Naruto. Sasuke would now do anything to have Naruto forgive him.

The man who's pressing the kunai against his throat drags him to the Hokage tower and on the way there, Sasuke sees people who drop whatever they're holding in their hands, and they remind him of Karin. Others shout and yell things like "Fuck you, Uchiha!" and "Is that _Uchiha_?" and "Good job on catching him!" Sasuke almost laughs at the last one. They didn't catch him, he's just letting them drag him. He could escape right now, he knows he could. All he needs is Chidori Current. Children run behind their parents' legs in fear and then when he passes, point openly. Eventually, people aren't throwing fruit but knives and scissors and Sasuke lets them graze his skin, they don't hurt and moving out of the way will slow the walk to the Hokage Tower. Crimson little drops and rivulets now dot his pale skin.

When they reach the Tower, Sasuke climbs the steps and ignores the more controlled but much more hateful ninjas that are watching their climb up. Halfway up, a ninja grabs him and says: "I'll bring him to Hokage-sama." A new kunai, this one more shiny and clean is shoved at his throat. Sasuke looks at the face and hears the voice and remembers him to be the only one Orochimaru's First Hokage's experiment actually worked on. He came to try and bring Sasuke back the second time, with Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke's replacement. Sasuke barely remembers his name.

They eventually reach the doors to the Hokage's tower and Sasuke is shoved in and a lesser trained man would have fallen on the floor. Tsunade stands in front of him, her and her servant, that black-haired woman who's always holding a pig. Tsunade looks the same, probably because of that jutsu of hers that changes her from a 50-something hag into a younger woman with bursting breasts. Sasuke looks around, and no one else is in the room and definitely not Naruto. It's strange. Naruto is _always_ there wherever Sasuke has something to do with Konoha. Sakura and Kakashi are sometimes with him, but all the same, there's _always_ Naruto and Sasuke is suddenly uneasy.

Tsunade stares at him, and asks, and Sasuke is surprised at the shocked tone in her voice: "Why are you back, Uchiha?"

Sasuke replies with his usual arrogance that pisses almost everyone off, Suigetsu the most: "Where's Naruto?"

This time he's forcefully shoved to the floor and Sasuke can't catch himself. "Uchiha, you are going to answer my questions, understand?" Tsunade barks. She's furious and Sasuke supposes she has a right to be.

Sasuke scoffs: "The hell I am." As fast as lightning, he throws his hand out and grabs Tsunade's leg. Chidori Current races through her through his entire body and shocks both Yamato and Tsunade, Yamato who's forcing his head down with his arm and is also touching him. They both jump up and Sasuke has 2 of his snakes wrapped around his body, one with it's jaws at Tsunade's throat and the other poised to crush Yamato's.

"Where's Naruto?", he demands again.

"Sasuke, you're just making your case worse by attacking the Hokage, but I'll tell you.", Tsunade gives in. She takes a breath and-

-there are guards pooling through the windows and doors and a strange tag is thrown in Sasuke's direction before he has time to blink. The world is black, a thick oppressing black and Sasuke suddenly doesn't feel like fighting anymore. He feels his body go lax, hears his snakes disappear with a _pop!_, hears commands coming from Tsunade's mouth , something about prisons and the council but Sasuke doesn't care anymore any the last thing he thinks he hears is Karin's _they hate you know Sasuke! _

He wakes up slowly and clumsily. He doesn't open his eyes for a few minutes, recognizing the clod stone beneath him as a prison cell. Sasuke is too tired and ashamed to move and he lays there for a few more minutes, recalling the ninja bursting through windows and the strange sleep tag thrown at him. He must have been a ridiculously easy target; there were already multiple open wounds on his skin, because of the crowd, plenty of places for the sleeping potion to get into his blood.

Sasuke lifts his head up from the ground and finally sits up. The cell is utterly bare, not even a stack of hay or a cold plank (beds) put out. The corner farthest away from the barred door stank of urine. Sasuke stares at the door, trying to get his mind off the smell, noticing, but just barely, the tip of one shoe poking out, barely visible between the bars. So he does have guards. ANBU probably.

So Sasuke's fear, his deep fear he'd refused to acknowledge for more than a second, had been confirmed. Naruto was not going to accept him back.

The great, crashing roar of truth fell down on him like a tree falling onto a hut. It crushed him utterly, and Sasuke curled up, gasping pathetically. All the dreams he'd been dreaming for so long, the day ones and the night ones, were stupid and useless and how could be such an _idiot_!

They all came rushing back, as clear as that kunai at his throat not so long ago. Everything he'd dreamed about how Naruto wouldn't do this and how he couldn't do this, that this would never happen, hit him straight in the face. Sasuke had always considered himself a realist, but it turns out he was wrong about this, this one thing he was so certain of.

Sasuke remembered Taka's pleadings before he left and Juugo's make the most sense. He groans and gasps. Did he just murder a bunch of people, by going back to Konoha? Did he just murder a bunch of _innocent_ people and in return got absolutely nothing for their lives?

It was sickening to think that way, and Sasuke curls up on his cold, hard and stone floor and tries to fall asleep, dreaming of the way he used to dream.

Eventually, after days or weeks, Sasuke doesn't care anymore, he's visited by Tsunade and her little platoon of guards. Sasuke knows he looks and smells disgusting and is glad to see Tsunade wrinkle up her nose at him. It was petty, but Sasuke was glad he was at least making Tsunade uncomfortable in at least some way.

"Uchiha", she says, her voice ringing out against the bars. "The council and I have been consulting the matter of your return these last few days, and that's why it took so long to make a decision." She pauses and Sasuke takes the chance to jump in.

"So, what did you and the geezers decide?", he inquires spitefully, just to annoy her.

As expected, Tsunade yells, louder that Juugo when he's on one of his rampages. "Shut, up, Uchiha, and let me finish! Originally, we were gonna keep you alive so that we could breed the Sharingan-"

Sasuke cuts her off: "If you perverts try that, I'll kill myself first." Orochimaru used to want to do that and Sasuke almost hit him if not for the power he was getting. He was not a fucking dog and he wasn't going to be treated like one.

"Hold your tongue, Uchiha! As I said, originally, that's what we were going to do, but we decided all we would get was more trouble from you Uchihas and there was no way we could have been forced you to do reproduce anyway. Some fools wanted to keep you alive because you killed Orochimaru, Itachi and Deidara, but we convinced them otherwise and in 3 days, Uchiha, you will be executed."

Sasuke looks up at her, unsurprised. He had expected as much, ever since he figured out Naruto didn't care fro Sasuke anymore. Naruto was the only reason he had stayed alive until this point.

Sasuke doesn't offer any further comments or questions and Tsunade doesn't want to hear them anyway. So Sasuke turns around and lays down on the cold, hard, stone, prison floor and Tsunade walks away, her guards keeping her protected.

3 days is a quick time period, even if you're in a cell all day long with nothing to do, screw what people say about how the hours before you die are the longest. He's not afraid of death, but he wished he wasn't going to die. It would have been nice to stay with Taka, with Suigetsu who irritates him so much, with Karin who is so much like a girl it's sickening and with Juugo who is terrified of himself and what he might one day do. They're not the most happiest or cheerful bunch and Sasuke hardly knows them, but now, a few hours before he's going to die, Sasuke wonders if they're better than Team 7 and if it's worth it to try to go back.

It's funny, Sasuke laughs insanely. Before, back was always Konoha, but now it's Taka.

Later, ANBU come for Sasuke and a completely new kunai is shoved at his throat, not as rough as the first one and not as shiny as the last one. Sasuke thinks this one is the best of all three and wonders if he really is crazy, like most people say.

This time on the way to the execution stand no one throws anything sharp or dangerous his way. Everyone, absolutely everyone is quietly watching Sasuke and his escort. It's quiet and Sasuke enjoys that. He'd always liked quiet. Not to mention how no one was throwing knives at him.

He walks up to the stand and some ninja, one Sasuke probably used to know but doesn't now, forces his head and knees down and straps his head into place so he can't escape. If Sasuke had had any hope left, he would try to search the crowd for Naruto and old teammates and still have found nothing.

Slowly, the executioner takes an axe from a ninja next to him and Sasuke he would just hurry up and finish the whole thing.

The axe is inches from his neck and Sasuke keeps his eyes open. He is not a coward and surprisingly, violently in that very second he absolutely _detests_ Suigetsu for saying so.

_Clash! Clash! Clash!_

The booming sound comes loudly and proudly, impossible to ignore; Sasuke's executioner and everyone else in the crowd and on the stand cast their angry eyes around the square, looking for the source. Sasuke can't do the same, so he turns his eyes Sharingan red for the heck of it and strains his ears to listen.

_Clash! Clash! Clash!_

The sounds continue and then there's a shout: "Over there, over there, by that green building." It's undoubtedly one of the Leaf-nin and Sasuke hears the _whoosh _of air as ninjas jump up from the stand towards the disturbance. His executioner stands still above him, but his axe is not at Sasuke's neck anymore. He leans down and growls into Sasuke's ear: "Uchiha, if these are some friends of yours trying to make a disturbance and rescue you, well it's not going to fucking wo - "

His voice is cut off before Sasuke has time to think about what he's saying and as fast and ugly as hate his head is in front of him, severed at the neck and blood gushing. Quick and deft hands undo the strap at his head and the crowd is roaring, literally roaring like some beast out of a children's tale. More ninjas rush forward, Sasuke can hear their feet running, but now he's free and he stands up, without thinking projecting Chidori Current through his body and he shocks a good number of ninja.

Sasuke turns his head to the left and Suigetsu is standing there, Zabuza's sword rammed through a Leaf-nin's body. His bright lavender eyes are sparkling, the way they always do when he kills someone.

Suigetsu looks at him and shouts, over the noise of the crowd and the _Clangs!, Clangs!, Clangs!_: "Let's goddamned go, Sasuke!"

Sasuke agrees, no questions asked and he and Suigetsu are jumping up, onto the rooftops with scores of Leaf-nin behind them. Sasuke's Chidori Current spreads out form his body, making a sword of electricity and stabs a good number of ninja behind them. Suigetsu looks back over his shoulder and laughs at Sasuke's attack, not a mean laugh, a happy one. Suigetsu pointed teeth turn into a smile as he looks at Sasuke and congratulates: "Guess you can kill Leaf-nin! I'm glad you finally got smart, Sasuke!"

Suigetsu was a trainee for the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist and Sasuke was Orochimaru's apprentice for years, plus he has the Sharingan. It's impossible to catch them and in a blur of swords and lightning, they're out of Konoha's walls.

Karin is standing on a tree branch a few kilometers away from the village and Sasuke knows who made the sound diversion. Karin smiles at him, her glasses crooked and blurred with sweat and a gash on her arm seeping blood, all for Sasuke. She jumps towards him and so reminiscent of Sakura on the day Sasuke left Konoha wraps her arms around his shoulder and sobs into his chest. Sasuke vaguely hears cracked words coming out of her mouth, words like 'idiot', 'lost', 'Leaf' and 'us'.

Suigetsu grins at Sasuke and translates: "What Karin is trying to say, you're an asshole for abandoning us and going back to Konoha. She thought we'd lose you, but then I came up with this brilliant plan and now you're forever in our debt, Sasuke. Oh, and we locked Juugo into a prison with _really_ heavy walls and we put some food in if he gets hungry, so he's alright. You didn't kill anyone." Suigetsu is harsh, but Sasuke deserves it.

Karin spends a few minutes like that, before Sasuke pushes her off and demands to be taken to Juugo so he can 'fix him'. Suigetsu rolls his eyes and complains and explains again that Sasuke is forever in their debt so he can't just order him around like that. But, since they agree with him, they'll take him there. Sasuke ignores him and Karin wipes off the last few tears from her cheeks and closes her eyes bravely, locating Juugo's chakra.

One day, about 3 weeks after the 'Konoha incident', Sasuke realizes something while he's asleep and asks Suigetsu to go catch them some fish in the river, just so he can get him alone. Juugo is out collecting berries and vegetables the can eat and Karin is asleep so she doesn't bother them.

Suigetsu goes, somewhat skeptically and grumbling about Sasuke still ordering him around, but he does go and Sasuke goes with him, down to the river. Once they get there, Suigetsu stands over the water, hands poised right on top of the surface, as close as he can without actually touching it, and grabs a fish, still alive when he pulls it out.

Sasuke watches him and tries to figure out how he can tell Suigetsu all the stuff that had been so clear in his head a few minutes ago, but would just get all tangled up and messy the second he brought it out of his head. He decides to start with truth and facts, which worked most of the time. So he tells Suigetsu, as a statement, not a question because he knows 99% it's true but needs that extra 1% to be 100% certain. "You don't like Naruto."

Suigetsu glances at him, feigning indifference. Sasuke knows that the same way Suigetsu knew he was leaving for Konoha. "No. I don't." Suigetsu's horrible at acting like he doesn't care, Sasuke decided.

"Why not?", Sasuke deadpans.

Suigetsu glares and doesn't answer him: "Why do you care?"

"Because I do. Why not?", Sasuke tries not to think about how much the sound like 2 5-year olds.

"None of your business, Sasuke.", Suigetsu says back and Sasuke thinks it's the dumbest thing he's ever said. How can Naruto _not_ be his business?

Sasuke walks closer, right up to Suigetsu and right next to the edge of the river. He stares him in the face and says to him what's so obvious but Suigetsu's being a jackass and complicating everything, says right to his face: "You don't like Naruto because I like him."

Suigetsu glares at him, shocked but too good at hiding it for it to show. "So what?", he says and turns away, hiding his face.

Sasuke stares at his silver hair, exasperated. "So", he drags out, "So you like me. So you're jealous of Naruto."

Suigetsu turns toward him suddenly and is yelling, screaming at him, loud enough to wake Karin up. "Well, how the fuck was I not supposed to be, you bastard! The entire time I've known you all you do is moon after that Kyuubi brat! The entire fucking time, Sasuke! And then you go back to Konoha, for him! For him and he doesn't even show, doesn't even try to keep you alive so me and Karin have to risk our lives to keep you alive, all because of him! And I've wanted you the entire time, do you hear me, Sasuke? The entire time and all you EVER do is think about Naruto! How the hell am I not supposed to be jealous?"

Suigetsu's breathing heavily, his head going up-down-up-down and Sasuke watches him motionlessly and thinks about all those times he's confused Naruto with Suigetsu. All the times he's dreamed of Naruto so far away when in reality Suigetsu was right next to him.

Sasuke has lived too coldly and too harshly to say sorry, so he does the next best thing, one that will probably make Suigetsu happier than a word.

Sasuke leans in and kisses him.

Suigetsu doesn't seem to register at first what's happening, his eyes are open and his mouth is closed stubbornly. Annoyed, Sasuke draws back and glares at him pointedly. Suigetsu gapes, points at himself, then at Sasuke and goes slack jawed with surprise and relief. Sasuke sees the chance and leans in, pushing his tongue forcefully into the swordsman's mouth and grabs him by the arms, Suigetsu is now enthusiastic enough and kisses him back fiercely, one of the Mist-nin's hands roughly grabbing at his hair and gripping inky black locks with a death-grip.

Sasuke moans into the kiss and Suigetsu just kisses him more fiercely, maneuvering his other arm to support Sasuke's back. It's useless though and Sasuke falls down on the cool grass, bringing Suigetsu along with him. Suigetsu is laughing and laughing. The swordsman looks down on Sasuke and grins at him: "So you like me now, right? No more Naruto, right?"

When Sasuke doesn't reply, he pushes his face down and Sasuke can feel the hot breath on his face and lips. "Right, Sasuke? It's just me now?"

Sasuke smirks back up at him. He hasn't felt this good in a long time, but no way in hell is Suigetsu going to know that much. Instead, he just answers the question: "Right."

Suigetsu's shark teeth smile even more widely than before and he mutters: "Good", just before he leans down once again and fists both hands in Sasuke's hair, his mouth kissing Sasuke's in ways both of them have imagined about, except for real was so much better.

4 months later

Karin sat forlornly on her rock outside the cave they'd chosen to shelter in for the rest of the week. It was possibly the most boring week Taka'd ever had. They'd met no enemies, no friends, no anything in this forest. It was a big forest and the only form of civilization was a little town a few kilometers away, so Karin supposed that the lack of everything made sense, but she was still bored and Sasuke and Suigetsu weren't helping at all. But then again, they're never much help, ever since they started sleeping together. Suigetsu had always been that way, though.

So that left Juugo to be her companion in times of extreme boredom, like right now, for instance.

"Hey, Juugo", Karin ventured after 15 minutes of silence. "Juugo, do animals ever say anything more interesting than, you know, what they normally say." Juugo's ability to talk to animals had been a great hit when Taka first joined together, but after a few years "I'm hungry!", "Bad men coming!", "I like you!" and "Winter is coming!" everything sort of lost it's appeal.

Juugo considers. "Not really."

Karin snorts and sighs, placing her head in her hands, strands of fire-red brushing her hands and looks out at all the greenery, as if she hadn't done that so many times before.

From behind them, Karin hears footsteps approaching and recognizes Suigetsu's chakra. Juugo actually has to turn around to see who it is and Karin feels the same sort of unusual pride that she's been feeling all here life. Noticing the absence of Sasuke's chakra she asks, without turning around: "Where's Sasuke-kun?"

Suigetsu comes in front of her and much to Karin's displeasure she has Suigetsu's ugly face in front of here. Karin finds it impossibly hard to believe exactly how Sasuke can kiss a face as ugly as Suigetsu's.

Suigetsu shrugs his broad, swimmer's shoulders. "He's taking a bath." The cave had a treasure of small water lagoons inside. Murky and unclear ones but clean enough.

Karin gazed at him in surprise. "Why aren't you with him?" 'Playing' in the water was great fun for Suigetsu and Sasuke, as Karin had against her will discovered. The whole 'Suigetsu can turn into water' was a big turn on, apparently, especially when they were in water. Karin privately thought it was kind of nice, but pretended it was disgusting whenever someone mentioned it to her.

"Sasuke wanted to be alone.", Suigetsu explains. Karin, also against her will, had stumbled quite literally on the fact that Suigetsu was on top, but Sasuke was the more commanding of the two, which she guess came from being an Uchiha. Suigetsu usually did whatever Sasuke wanted.

"Why?", Juugo asked. Karin wanted to know, too.

"He said I was too great of a sex god and that we'd done it too many times and that he was exhausted." Suigetsu rattled off.

"I think you made that up.", Juugo says unbelievingly.

"Me, too.", Karin agrees.

"Believe what you want.", Suigetsu says with the expression of someone much wiser. Karin spat at him. Suigetsu stuck his tongue out at her and walked back inside.

An hour passed after that and Karin stayed out on her rock, basking in the sunlight. If they were only at a beach, she'd get s great tan. If only-

"Karin-san.", Juugo said urgently, breaking off her chain of thought.

"Yeah, what?"

"Karin-san, do you not hear that?", Juugo sounded really anxious now and Karin wondered what it was. It had to be something big, to scare Juugo.

She listened closely and somewhere not that far away, the unmistakable _whoosh! _of ninja jumping through the tree branches.

"Ninjas.", she said, tensing up. Juugo nodded. Then he said quietly, keeping his voice down: "Karin-san, will you be able to recognize them by their chakra?"

It's a smart idea, Karin has to admit. "Only if I'd seen them before. You go in and warn Suigetsu and Sasuke-kun, just in case they're enemies." Juugo leaves quickly and the birds that were on his wrist fly up into the sky, screeching shrilly.

Karin closes her eyes and concentrates. 3 people. 1 female, 2 males. 1 of the males was older than the other 2. And…

It all came back then, that red-demon chakra, the green-healing chakra and the common blue chakra with one of the Uchiha's clan own Sharingan sitting where his eye should be. It all came back to her and Karin knew she should be afraid. It was so hostile, so dangerous, that red-demon chakra and Karin was terrified. Struggling, she made the connection to that day, that day in that town when these 3 and more were hunting them and they barely avoided them.

Karin didn't know any of they're names, except Sharingan Kakashi who's practically a legend, but she knows they're Sasuke's former teammates. The same former teammates who let Sasuke to die in Konoha and gave the task of saving him to Taka. The very same people.

Suigetsu was not going to like this.

Karin stared out to the multiple trees pathetically, caught between worry and anger. Suigetsu was definitely going to want to kill them, Sasuke's Team 7 who left him to die in Konoha. Naruto most of all, who Sasuke originally thought he was in love with before Suigetsu stepped in. And Karin would be lying if she said she didn't bear some serious bad will towards Sasuke's Team 7.

But there was Sasuke to consider. Sasuke, with his crazy ideas and memories who would probably command no harm come to them, even though they left him. Sasuke told everyone he had no loyalties, but he did. He had 2, and they were always fighting against each other. And then Suigetsu would get angry, terribly, jealously angry and he might leave. Suigetsu might leave and Karin is scared for a moment. She cannot imagine Taka without even one of its members, even if it's Suigetsu.

The sounds and chakras are growing closer, much closer. They're going to be here in a few minutes, Karin tells herself. In a couple of minutes Taka might split up. Karin is frozen and the rational part of her brain is screaming and berating at her to go inside the cave, but she's frozen and curious, undeniably curious, and she can't.

They're in front of her now. The famous Hatake Kakashi, with his Sharingan eye covered by a drooping headband. She knows him by sight. Another girl, a pink-haired one with a pink skirt is there too and Karin feels absurdly jealous that Sasuke used to spend time with her. And the most dangerous one of all, the Kyuubi, with blue eyes and yellow hair and so fierce it's not hard to imagine why Sasuke thought he was in love with him. He's very alike to Suigetsu; Karin sees immediately and hates him because of it.

Karin stands up, trying to be bold and plays dumb: "Who are you?"

It's the blonde who answers, predictably enough. "Cut the crap,", he snaps. "We know you know where Sasuke is. Take us to him. Now."

There's no authority in his voice, not at all like Sasuke's whose voice is always a command. There's no authority but there's something else, something stronger, something like friendship and Karin hopes for her sake and Suigetsu's and Sasuke's sake it's not love.

"I know who you are, too.", Karin says. 2 can play at that game. "Why should I?" Time to bring out the big swords. "You left him to die."

The blonde snarls, sounding like the demon inside him. He swings a fist towards Karin, but Sharingan Kakashi grabs him back before he can hit Karin. Karin would have caught the clumsy punch anyway.

Pink speaks up for the Kyuubi and says quietly, but bravely and Karin knows the ton. That's the tone someone uses when they're incredibly ashamed. She's seen Sasuke use it often enough the first few days after they rescued him, especially when he was talking to Juugo. The girl says: "No, you don't understand. We never meant for that to happen, we weren't there when it happened, we didn't know, Tsunade-sempai never told us. We wanted Sasuke-kun to live we really did. We want him to come back." She's practically in tears.

Kakashi looks at Karin with his eye and says firmly, the complete opposite of crybaby over there: "We did not want Sasuke to die. We were away on a long-term mission and Tsunade-sama never told us. I suppose she thought it would be easier that way. We only got back a month ago and have since then we've been looking for you. You and your team are not easy to track."

Karin gapes, not registering what they were saying. They didn't leave Sasuke there, they did want him alive, but they were away and didn't know. And all of a sudden, they're much more dangerous. Karin was upset enough knowing Suigetsu might leave, but with this new turn of events, Sasuke might leave. Sasuke wanted to go back in the first place, didn't he? He came back to Taka because his former teammates didn't care for him anymore. But he was wrong, everyone was wrong, Team 7 did want him back.

Before Karin can think of something smart to say, Suigetsu strolls out of the cave, Juugo right behind them. Sasuke wasn't with them and Karin's relived for a half-second, before she realizes Suigetsu is and he's much more dangerous.

"Who the hell are you?", he demands immediately. Zabuza's sword is unsheathed and it's dangling loosely from Suigetsu's fingers, the tip embedded in rich soil, but Karin knows he can pull it out and attack with it in a second if he wants to.

Karin speaks up. There's iron in her voice when she does, trying to sound as commanding as Sasuke. "They're Sasuke's former teammates-"is all she can get out before Zabuza's sword is out and swirling down on the Kyuubi's head. Karin shrieks and stumbles forward yelling "No, Suigetsu, you don't understand!", but it's Juugo who stops the sword, one enormous arm, gripping Suigetsu's and pulling his arms back, to stop the sword from continuing its descent.

"Suigetsu, no!", Karin tries to explain, babbling, "Suigetsu, they didn't want him to die, they were away and their Hokage's a bitch so she didn't tell them and they've been looking for Sasuke for a month-", she's making no sense and Sharingan Kakashi steps in, still holding back the Kyuubi who might have yelled or tried to punch someone again, Karin wasn't paying attention, but Kakashi steps in, and with Juugo holding Suigetsu back, firmly explains, telling the same story he told Karin.

Suigetsu steps back eventually and growls, his angry lavender eyes fixated on the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi shouts at him, well, all of them, actually: "Who _are_ you people?"

"I'm Karin", Karin says. "Sasuke's teammate. He picked me especially." She feels like boasting.

"Juugo", Juugo says, as short as ever. "Sasuke-san is keeping other people safe and to do that he needs me near him." Karin is willing to bet all her money (which isn't much) that Team 7 had no clue what that meant, except for maybe Kakashi.

Suigetsu's eyes are still narrowed and his sword is in the same loose position before he attacked them. "I'm Sasuke's lover." His eyes don't leave the Kyuubi.

It's Pink who gasps though. "His lover?!" Kakashi doesn't react and the Kyuubi just stares harder. "His lover,", he repeats, shell-shocked. "Sasuke's gay? And someone's actually in love with him?"

"Yeah.", Suigetsu says and it's obvious he's pleased by their reactions.

"I think we should bring them to Sasuke-san.", Juugo says.

"Me, too.", Karin agrees.

"I think we should just kill them.", Suigetsu says bluntly.

"You're such an idiot, Suigetsu! How do you expect to hide this from Sasuke?! He'll find out eventually! And I'd love to see you try to kill Sharingan Kakashi.", Karin really hates Suigetsu sometimes and this is one of them.

"Me, too!", the Kyuubi pipes up. "Nothing is keeping me from Sasuke!"

"See?", Karin rolls her eyes.

"Fine", the Mist-nin growls out. "I'll go get Sasuke." He disappears into the cave.

"Oi!", Karin yells after him. "Meet us in the supply area! Bring Sasuke to the supply area! Are you listening to me, you dumbass?" Karin feels bad for him, but now she's certain Sasuke won't leave Taka. It suddenly came to her, how he's spent, what, a year with Team 7? And 4 years with Taka. And Taka rescued him and helped him with Itachi while Team 7 just tried to drag him back to Konoha. And there's Suigetsu. Sasuke might have loved Naruto before, but now it's Suigetsu.

"Follow me.", she commands them. They do follow her, Karin's pleased to say and they reach the supply area in short enough time. That's where all their food, water and necessities are stashed. It's a big, spacious room and also Suigetsu's and Sasuke's bedroom. There's one 2-person futon spread out on the floor. Suigetsu and Sasuke aren't here yet. Karin closes her eyes and feels Sasuke's and Suigetsu's chakra approaching. Sasuke's Sharingan is activated. "Sasuke'll be here in a few minutes", she tells them, still confident that Sasuke will stay with Taka.

Pink points at the futon: "Is this-?" She doesn't need to finish the question and Karin answers. "Yeah, it's Sasuke's and Suigetsu's room."

Kakashi says nothing and the Kyuubi is quiet for a few minutes, drinking everything in. "So Sasuke has a…a _lover_?" Disbelief is colored all over his voice.

"Yeah.", Karin answers. "I hate him too. I can't believe Sasuke-kun would choose Suigetsu of all people." The Kyuubi nods, still in a trance and suddenly it occurs to Karin: what if the Kyuubi likes Sasuke? What if that's how it is and Sasuke regains his lost love or something dramatic like that. Sasuke's always pulling dramatic shit like that.

So to find out, she asks the Kyuubi cautiously, trying to behave like a snide friend teasing someone: "Why? You don't have one yet?"

The Kyuubi flares up. "I do too! I've got-", is all he manages to get out before Sasuke walks through the doorway, Sharingan blaring and Suigetsu's arm wrapped around his waist protectively.

Pink whirls her head around, Kakashi lifts his head up from the rack of water bottles and the Kyuubi turns his whole body around, growling "Sasuke."

Karin holds her breath.

Sasuke walks over to the futon, still dripping wet from his bath and ignoring everyone sits down on it and looks right at the Kyuubi first, the Pink and then Kakashi. Suigetsu sits down next to him, arm tightening even more. Sasuke asks, his voice heavy with the loyalty he claims not to have: "Why are you here?"

Pink jumps forward, her arms unfurling and she flings them around Sasuke, but Suigetsu draws a fist back, livid and it's a second away from Pink's face before Sasuke grabs it and barks: "Stop!" Suigetsu stops, obedient as ever when it comes to Sasuke and his eyes look at Pink with distaste, she's clinging onto Sasuke like there's nothing else in the world.

Juugo tells Suigetsu angrily: "Control yourself, Suigetsu-san. These are Sasuke-san's former teammates." Suigetsu doesn't answer, his gaze pointed at Pink's trembling body. Karin's at a lost what to do. Kakashi and the Kyuubi walk forward and Kakashi tells Sasuke like a teacher telling a student: "That was good, Sasuke." and Karin almost laughs. There's nothing Kakashi can teach Sasuke anymore.

The Kyuubi, Pink and Kakashi then tell their story, punctuated loudly by Pink's tears. The Kyuubi uses a lot of arm-waving when he's explaining, but Kakashi is as cool as ever. They give Sasuke a much longer version than they gave the other members of Taka, a version filled with emotions and whys. Sasuke listens with his eyes closed and Karin feels the Sharingan go out. Every few minutes Suigetsu kisses Sasuke's head and black locks and Karin and Juugo feel the jealously radiating off him.

Sasuke opens his eyes when they're down and looks down at Pink and snaps, sounding much more tired that usual: "Sakura, get off me." Pink, Sakura, that is, hurriedly brings herself up, only now seeming embarrassed.

Sasuke looks at her and seems amused. "Are you still in love with me, Sakura?" Suigetsu stiffens next to the Uchiha. Juugo watches with new interest, pushing off from the wall he was leaning on. Karin adjusts her glasses awkwardly. Sakura blushes: "No! I just really missed you Sasuke. It's been years since we last saw you. I'm going out with Lee-san."

Suigetsu smiles: "Good. Otherwise I'd have to kill you, bitch." Ignoring Sakura's expression and Sasuke's "yeah right" he turns to Naruto. "Are you in love with Sasuke?"

Sakura throws back her head and laughs, Karin thinks he hears Kakashi chuckle, she can't really tell because of that mask and the Kyuubi blanches. "With Sasuke? That bastard? No! Why the hell does everyone want to know who I'm in love?! I'm going out with Hinata, Hinata! I'm not even gay!"

Sasuke smirks. He turns toward Suigetsu, who looks way too pleased with himself, and says mockingly: "Told you."

"Shut up", Suigetsu snaps. "Fucking know-it-all Uchiha."

Karin sighs, relieved. She knew it would turn out this way, she had that feeling, didn't she? And it looked like Sasuke forgave them, it looked like they were forgiving Sasuke and now all Sasuke had to say was that he was staying with Taka, that he wasn't going back to Konoha. Karin put her fingers in her jacket pocket and crossed them, a habit childish habit she'd had since, well, since she was a child.

It's the Kyuubi who asks the question. "Sasuke, will you come with us back to Konoha?"

Sasuke looks at him and Suigetsu's relaxed arm tightens all over again. "Naruto", he says and Karin finally learns his name. "Naruto, I can't."

Sakura gasps, Kakashi nods his head knowingly, Naruto screams: "Why not?!", Karin's anxiety disappears all at once and she's happier than she's been in years, Juugo smiles and mutters something to himself and Suigetsu's sharp teeth stretch across his face into a grin and he's kissing Sasuke, right on the lips.

Sasuke pushes him off, yelling something like: "Can you wait 2 fucking seconds, you whore!", but Suigetsu's not paying any attention and he kisses him again, except not on the lips but on the side of his head. Juugo moves forward and softly says "thank you" to Sasuke and Karin understands he's thinking about the monster in him. She herself walks toward Sasuke and flings her arm around him, at least until Suigetsu pushes her off, yelling about how Sasuke's his.

Team 7 stand next to the doorway, all 3 faces crinkled into sadness, Karin knows that even though Kakashi's face is covered. Sasuke stands up and Suigetsu finally lets him go, allowing Sasuke to walk over to his former teammates. Sasuke looks at them and tells them something quietly, something Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu don't hear and don't care that they don't hear.

Team 7 stays another 3 days after that. Karin enjoys speaking to Sakura and avoids Naruto because he reminds him so much of Suigetsu. Juugo spends more time with Kakashi and Naruto than anyone else, both of them fascinated by the whole talking-to-animals thing. Suigetsu stalks Naruto and Sakura and doesn't let them stay in a room alone with Sasuke, and spars against Kakashi to end up halfway stuck in the ground. It was the best laugh Karin had in a while.

It's not they are friends, really, it's more like they put up with each other and get along together, all for Sasuke's sake. Sasuke who is stuck right in the middle of both of them, but most decide on one of them and picks Taka. He'll never be welcome in Konoha, everyone knows.

They leave 3 days later, with Naruto promising to find Sasuke again and visit.

END

Yeah, so, this thing is pretty long. 14 pages on Word. Well, long for me anyways. Anyway, I think this is really going to happen in the manga. Not the SuiSasu part, I tweaked that, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if Tsunade orders Sasuke to be executed. Or if Sasuke never went back to Konoha and stayed not with Taka, maybe, but you know, just not in Konoha. Kinda depressing. Review's would make my day. No, seriously.


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